He’s not the type to gloat. Not the type to crow. Not the type to view victories as vindication or validation or poetic payback. He’s not the type to exploit an emphatic “statement” game by saying something smug, self-evident or self-serving.

But, really, who could blame him if he did?

Who could fault the Chargers’ lightning-rod coach had he responded to continuing calls for his unemployment with some snarky comment about the scoreboard Sunday night? Who could have watched the Chargers’ 34-14 romp over the redoubtable Baltimore Ravens without conceding that Turner has brought the Bolts back from the abyss and, as improbable as it might seem, into playoff contention?

Moreover, who wants a piece of these Chargers the way they’re playing now?

Three weeks ago, Turner’s job appeared to be hanging by a strip of dental floss, his firing virtually a fait accompli following a six-game losing streak, his potential replacements a reliable source of water-cooler debate. Yet while the Chargers’ playoff scenarios remain contingent on two road games and multiteam parlays, a season that seemed lost may yet be found.

You can probably blame Norv Turner for some of that.

“The guys have tons of confidence in Coach,” Chargers center Nick Hardwick said Sunday night. “We love him. He’s just a great man. Everyone’s fighting super-hard for each other and for him and for the entire coaching staff.

“I think we’ve found some direction as of late. … Coach has figured out what we’re good at.”

The Chargers returned to the .500 mark Sunday night with their third straight blowout victory, this one achieved against the National Football League’s third-ranked defense and without a single punt. If the Chargers’ lopsided victories against Jacksonville and Buffalo were somewhat devalued by the caliber of the competition and the Bolts’ fading playoff prospects, dominating the Ravens was a result that resonated.

What Norv Turner has figured out is what he suspected all along — that the Chargers had the pieces of a prolific offense if those pieces could ever achieve a quorum for quarterback Philip Rivers.

The proof is in the particulars. Both wide receiver Vincent Jackson and running back Ryan Mathews surpassed the 1,000-yard mark Sunday night, and Rivers finished his fourth straight game without suffering a pass interception. The Chargers accumulated 415 yards of total offense — almost half-again the average the Ravens allow — and they did so on an evening when the Baltimore defense was ostensibly bolstered by the return of its linchpin linebacker, Ray Lewis.

“This is what everyone was expecting from us all year,” Chargers defensive tackle Antonio Garay said. “Guys are healthy, and guys are revved up.”

Even so, the Chargers are not all they could be without Pro Bowl guard Kris Dielman and tackle Marcus McNeill. Yet the field-stretching return of wide receiver Malcom Floyd, the gradual progress of sore-footed tight end Antonio Gates and a late-season offensive line reconstruction featuring Kansas City castoff Jared Gaither has enabled Rivers to execute more routine plays and take fewer risks.

The difference has been so dramatic that if Norv Turner has not yet saved his job, he has at least provided Chargers President Dean Spanos with some political cover if, as some suspect, Spanos’ personal preference is to stand pat.

“This isn’t about me and it isn’t about my job, either,” Turner said Sunday night, speaking softly in a corridor outside the Chargers’ dressing room. “I take a lot of pride in putting these guys in position to be successful. That’s what my job is. ...

“The biggest thing for me is getting these guys back (from injury). That’s helped Philip to get back into a rhythm. Obviously, there’s a comfort level with him when all these guys are playing.”

Norv Turner is not the football coach from Central Casting. Outside of the Chargers’ Murphy Canyon cocoon, the noisiest authorities insist he is not fiery, forceful, inspired or inspiring. He is widely seen as proof of the Peter Principle; as a skilled offensive coordinator who has risen to his level of incompetence.

Yet the fair-minded fan must also acknowledge that the Chargers do not quit on him under duress and that they generally end the season on a crescendo. Sunday’s victory improved Turner’s December/January regular-season record with the Chargers to 20-2.

“I know the opinion out there,” Turner said, “but I take a great pride in the leadership I provide, and how I motivate them, how our assistant coaches motivate them, and I take a lot of pride in how they respond.”